Parashat Korach and weekend services

We’d love you to join us for our Kaballat Shabbat services, Friday June 15, at the special time of 6:30 p.m. We will have a lovely meat kidush in honor of Sara K’s bat mitzvah weekend.

Also, please join us for shabbat morning services Saturday June 16th at 9 a.m. Torah service at around 9:45 a.m. and children’s services with our own Shereen at 10:30 a.m. Kidush lunch immediately.

Watch this space for summer speaker series and summer Talmud classes at Beth El. Our first guest will be David Walker, who studied medieval Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, speaking on June 29.

Dive into the Talmud starts Thursday June 21 at 7pm and continues throughout the summer on every other Thursday.

Cantor Ben-Moshe’s Weekly Message;

This week’s parshah, Korah, deals with the rebellion of the title character against the leadership of Moshe and Aharon. Joined by Dathan and Aviram of the Tribe of Reuven, Korah is ultimately regarded as rebelling against God, who chose Moshe and Aharon, and is punished accordingly in a theatrical manner-the rebels are swallowed alive by the earth. The Torah tells us, however, that the sons of Korah did not die with their father. In fact, if we look at the Book of Psalms, we see some that are attributed to the Sons (or descendants) of Korah. Apparently, they became leaders in the Levitical guild of Temple musicians. This illustrates a principle of the Torah-no one is punished for the sins of their ancestors, there is no familial guilt. Of course, our actions may affect what happens to our descendants, and we should act in such a way as to ensure a good future for our offspring-but ultimately, we all all responsible for our own actions. May all of our actions be good, and may we be remembered not like Korah, the egotistical protagonist of our parshah, but like his descendants who made sweet music before God. Shabbat Shalom.

Hazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe

Shabbat candle lighting times are at 8: 16 p.m.

You all are invited to the Bat Mitzvah of Sara K. THIS weekend, June 15 and 16. Iris and Kevin would be deeply honored to have their Beth El family attend. There will be Friday services at 6:30 p.m June 15, followed by a dinner and also Saturday morning services, followed and a kidush lunch.

Dive into the Talmud!
Thursday June 21 at 7pm.

The Talmud has been compared to a vast sea, in which one can swim forever. The Talmud is a vast compilation of law, legend and scholarly discussions, which also gives us a window into the lives of our ancient ancestors.

Come dip a toe into the sea of Talmud as we begin to explore Massecheth B’rachoth, the Tractate of Benedictions, which deals with prayer. The class, led by Chazzan Yitzhak Ben-Moshe, will meet on alternate Thursday evenings at 7:00 PM, beginning on June 21, July 12, July 26, August 16, August 30, September 6.

Macrame and Margaritas!
Sunday June 24 @ 4pm @ Beth El

Join the Beth El sisterhood for Macrame making with our wonderful teacher Anat who will show us the ins and outs of this fun craft. And just for fun, we will all be bringing super healthy salads to share and making Margaritas to sip. Open to all! A $5 donation to help cover costs.

WATCH THIS SPACE!

we will also be watching the musical Mama Mia together on June 26 at the home of Juliette and then as soon as Mama Mia, Here We Go Again Comes Out will watch it as a sisterhood!

Sisterhood Book Club.
Judas by Amos Oz –
available in Hebrew and English

Summertime and the reading is easy – or at least incredibly interesting. The sisterhood is reading Amos Oz’s 2016 novel, Judas. We will meet at the end of the summer to have a stimulating discussion, so get your copy soon.

Rabbi Tarlow’s Weekly Parasha:

This week’s Torah portion is found in Numbers 16:1-18:30. This parashah is the most famous of the revolt sections. It tells the story of Korach’s attempted coup d’état. Within the Torah’s five books, this is the most politically charged text, and in a time such as ours, with great political divisions throughout the land, it presents both challenges and great insights.

Korach argues that Moses, who represents the central government, has become too powerful; that decision-making should be spread evenly throughout the community.

The issue of power, of which the parashah speaks, is one that has plagued political scientists and social reformers ever since. How much freedom is too much? Because Judaism is a religion of questioning rather than blind faith we tend to question all forms of authority.

To question is never easy and ever since Korach we the Jewish people have struggled with maintaining a fine line between support of our leaders and being too critical of them, between the realization that leaders must seek consensus and the realization they cannot make every decision according to how the political winds may blow at a specific point in time. The art of questioning has forced us to seek to balance personal and communal responsibility, to find ways to argue with each other and yet come together and learn to accept that others may have different viewpoints from those that we hold.
Perhaps it is for this reason that the text teaches us that while we must judge our leaders with a critical eye, we must also avoid falling into the trap of cynicism and crisis management. To do so is to encourage those who hope to gain power by self-promotion and agitation.
In times such as ours, where so many are convinced that only they are correct and the other is wrong, this section reminds us of the arrogance of certainty.
Just as in the days when we travel through the Sinai desert on route to Israel we too live in a time of hyper political sensitivity, where both sides have ceased to listen to the other and seek to overwhelm rather than to bond.

In the Biblical text the end of the revolt comes with the ground swallowing up Korach and his men and all of their families. As we in the United States approach our 242nd Independence Day from British tyranny, this section forces us to ask: Have we learned how to listen to each other or shall we too be swallowed up by the sands of political discord and arrogance?